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The Top 5 leaps we need from defensive players

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FrancisSawyer said:
That's what I would have guessed. That's interesting. I was not aware that Kinchens was considered a ballhawk. Whoever it turns out to be, we need him.
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Kam is arguably our best cover safety, guy has magnets for hands and a radar in his head. He and Tae are going to be so lethal back there this year! Kam was considered that coming out of HS too, a few respected people said he was the best safety in the class.
 
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MiamiBusiness said:
Do we know where exactly Chase Smith will be playing this year? WLB or hybrid?
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Strong side if we’re playing in a traditional 4-3, he’s a Sam backer.

If we’re playing a more Multiple Defense & continuing to incorporate the 4-2-5, he’s can play as the Will.

Frierson is the STAR/Striker or Hybrid, but in a 4-3 can play Weak side as well.

But in the 4-3 Keontra is more of a Weak side LB in that scheme, but both he & Frierson can play at the same time with putting Frierson at Sam. It just becomes a matter of what to do with certain sub-packages & how they choose to use certain lineups against specific looks.

Adding Caleb Johnson gives us the starting Mike Backer, so now we basically have Chase, Keontra, Gilbert & whatever we can get out of Huff as our 4 OLB’s. Physically Chase & Huff are traditional sized Sam backers & Frierson & Keontra fit the mold of Will’s, however, based on Steele’s history & how he likes to use undersized LB’s & Hybrid Nickel players our OLB’s are pretty much interchangeable with the possibility of having guys like JWill, Blades Jr & Jalen Harrell as Hybrids as well.

It all just depends on how exotic Steele wants to get with the Defense & how often he wants to rotate different variations in.
 
This defense should be lethal.

Most important piece we need to step up is a LB and first person I think of is Chase Smith. Need him to take the next step.

DL should be more than serviceable in the ACC and we have pretty good depth. DB’s as Liberty said should be good for a strong 2 deep possibly 3 deep.

Just need a stud in the middle of the defense!
 
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Liberty City El said:
Strong side if we’re playing in a traditional 4-3, he’s a Sam backer.

If we’re playing a more Multiple Defense & continuing to incorporate the 4-2-5, he’s can play as the Will.

Frierson is the STAR/Striker or Hybrid, but in a 4-3 can play Weak side as well.

But in the 4-3 Keontra is more of a Weak side LB in that scheme, but both he & Frierson can play at the same time with putting Frierson at Sam. It just becomes a matter of what to do with certain sub-packages & how they choose to use certain lineups against specific looks.

Adding Caleb Johnson gives us the starting Mike Backer, so now we basically have Chase, Keontra, Gilbert & whatever we can get out of Huff as our 4 OLB’s. Physically Chase & Huff are traditional sized Sam backers & Frierson & Keontra fit the mold of Will’s, however, based on Steele’s history & how he likes to use undersized LB’s & Hybrid Nickel players our OLB’s are pretty much interchangeable with the possibility of having guys like JWill, Blades Jr & Jalen Harrell as Hybrids as well.

It all just depends on how exotic Steele wants to get with the Defense & how often he wants to rotate different variations in.
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Great stuff, thank you 🙌🏼.
 
Leonard Taylor, James Williams - these are our future Day 1 early Day 2 players on defense...they need to play like it all season.
Chase Smith, Avantae Williams, and Tyrique Stevenson - these should be Day 2 type players...they need to play like it all season.

The top of our roster is what needs to make a leap.
 
Liberty City El said:
I would add Jahfari Harvey to the list...

Adding Agude & Mesidor at DE gave us two solid upperclassmen vets, but in terms of pure ability Harvey can be a very good pass rushing specialist if he can maturate & live up to his potential.

The CB group will be interesting to see how it develops, we got 4 coming in the Fall & none of the current 6 who were available for Spring entered the Portal, so we could essentially have 9-10 CB’s for Fall with Blades Jr basically being used as a Nickel, but he can also play Field & Boundary.

And with having so many bodies for essentially 3 spots, there should be no reason for us to have bad CB play this year, there’s way too many rotational variations to throw out there to justify struggling in coverage. Even our Dime packages can have a legit 2-deep rotation, barring a rash of injuries, we should have the most depth at CB we’ve had in years...

What we need the most from the Secondary whether it comes from the CB or Safety group, is a dynamic Ballhawk. Someone who can make QB’s pay for being over aggressive when attacking one side of the field.
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I agree but I think we need to be honest with 12. What you see is what you get. He’s a high motor kid that will get some hustle hurries/sacks but he’s limited. Jmo
 
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AUcane said:
I agree but I think we need to be honest with 12. What you see is what you get. He’s a high motor kid that will get some hustle hurries/sacks but he’s limited. Jmo
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He is limited, never said he wasn’t.

But there’s potential for him to have an impactful role in this Defense.

It just comes down to can he maximize his ability & what exactly does he look like at optimum level?

Between Mesidor, Agude & Harvey, idk which one of them is the premier pass rusher that will present the biggest threat in terms of creating pressure & getting sacks. So my point in mentioning him is sticking with the title of this thread, as one of the Defensive players who need to take the biggest leaps this year.

Part of the reason why I was so high on DJ Coleman is because we really don’t have a prototype DE, even Mesidor is more of a 3/5-tech & Agude is more of an OLB/Jack rusher. None of our current DE’s are necessarily gold standard pass rushers, so among the top 4, which one can carve out a role as the guy who can gets to the QB on 3rd down?
 
LuCane said:
1. Leonard Taylor - This is based on talent and opportunity. If he gets comfortable with the new expectations (and that will require he take some lumps), with what's around him, he can almost single-handedly change down and distance for our opponents.

2. Chase Smith - He's supremely talented. He'll now have a much clearer idea of what to do. Let him run.

3. 2nd Corner (pick a player) - This is based mostly on opportunity. Opposing teams will otherwise find this spot on the field and pick on it. Whoever jumps into the other outside CB role will need a leap.

4. James Williams - Whether at Safety or, more likely, at multiple spots on the field, he can be a true 3rd down terror for us. His ability to rush the passer while looking like he could drop in coverage gives us one of our best chances to get off the field.

5. Darrell Jackson - He's 19. He's still growing. Whether he becomes a star or not, a leap in front of Jordan Miller makes us capable of playing all the fronts we'll need.

Prior to Darrell Jackson's signing, simply because of the dynamic of missing pieces, I would have had Harvey and perhaps another DL (Agude, Haye, Chantz) on the list. As mentioned on the "DL pieces" thread, Jackson sends ripple effects across the entire DL. Now, Mesidor (who's not on the list because I think he's a more known commodity) can play outside, if necessary. And, both our base and sub-packages become far more flexible.

5 months ago, I was deathly concerned about what our defense would look like for '22. I imagined Kevin Steele and crew would have to work absolute magic. They still will need to be creative in covering up some holes, but given our schedule, there is more hope.
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I see 3 out of 5 is doable
 
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Opponents attempted 36 plus passes a game and we only had 8 INTs
One of the safties has to turn this number around. Avantae is my choice. Blades skills and experience should equal 3 or more as well.
Also only 3 fumble recoveries. Not sure forced fumbles. Safety and LB have to tackle first but opportunities will grow just wrapping up
Mesidor and harvey will look at 8 plus sacks and thomas davis could be our jarvis moss, 5,6 or more

Pure conjecture
 
cway313 said:
Who is gonna get sacks is my biggest question?
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That’s just it and the beauty of it all. Miami has multiple studs that are position flexible. I think the sacks will come from multiple positions on a regular basis. Coaching is really going to stand out this year. Players will finally be put in a position to succeed.
 
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Liberty City El said:
Strong side if we’re playing in a traditional 4-3, he’s a Sam backer.

If we’re playing a more Multiple Defense & continuing to incorporate the 4-2-5, he’s can play as the Will.

Frierson is the STAR/Striker or Hybrid, but in a 4-3 can play Weak side as well.

But in the 4-3 Keontra is more of a Weak side LB in that scheme, but both he & Frierson can play at the same time with putting Frierson at Sam. It just becomes a matter of what to do with certain sub-packages & how they choose to use certain lineups against specific looks.

Adding Caleb Johnson gives us the starting Mike Backer, so now we basically have Chase, Keontra, Gilbert & whatever we can get out of Huff as our 4 OLB’s. Physically Chase & Huff are traditional sized Sam backers & Frierson & Keontra fit the mold of Will’s, however, based on Steele’s history & how he likes to use undersized LB’s & Hybrid Nickel players our OLB’s are pretty much interchangeable with the possibility of having guys like JWill, Blades Jr & Jalen Harrell as Hybrids as well.

It all just depends on how exotic Steele wants to get with the Defense & how often he wants to rotate different variations in.
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With the talent he has available to him. I think coach Steele will play a Multiple defense. When Auburn’s defense dominated and ranked as one of the tops in college football, he ran a multiple defense. It’s exciting to see what he comes up with on a game by game basis. I’m a fan of his.
 
@Liberty City El don't you see Avantae as that ball hawk type safety we’ve been missing for a decade or more. In addition to his talent and natural instincts, I think in the right defense he could be lethal back there. Or am I missing something about him?
 
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OriginalCanesCanesCanes said:
@Liberty City El don't you see Avantae as that ball hawk type safety we’ve been missing for a decade or more. In addition to his talent and natural instincts, I think in the right defense he could be lethal back there. Or am I missing something about him?
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Its in his name, its in his blood.. He gonna lean on a Bull til its proven on field.. Both are basically equal at moment so he gon rock with a bull. Its respectable and understandable..
 
Not including portal transfers in regards to the title…

1. Al Blades jr.

2. Chase Smith

3. Waynmon Steed

4. Leonard Taylor

5. Elijah Robert’s

If these 5 players make the “leap” in addition to the type of impact we are expecting from the portal transfers, including Tyrique… then this defense is going to be top 10 with Steele, Strong, and Addae coaching them up.
 
HOLISTIC CANE said:
That’s just it and the beauty of it all. Miami has multiple studs that are position flexible. I think the sacks will come from multiple positions on a regular basis. Coaching is really going to stand out this year. Players will finally be put in a position to succeed.
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🤞
 
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